Plow.



J. E. PEARCE.

PLOW.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 3, 1912.

Patented Slit. 22, 1914.

2 SHEETSSHBET 1.

t 4 INV/VTOR I h/Za/Z.

illi.

ATTORNEYS J. E. PEARCE.

PLOW. APPLIOATIQN FILED JULY 3, 1912.

1,1 1 1,6 1 3. Patented Sept. 22, 1914.

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES INVENTOH Wz a-Lf Z, j Q/W 1 ATI'ORNEYS unrrnn STATES PATENT OFFICE;

nuns Enwm runner, or anemia, Texas.

PLOW

Application filed July 8, 1912. Serial'No'. 707,489.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 22, 1914..

To'all whom; it may concern 1- Be' it known that I, JAMES E. PEARCE, a

citizen of the United States, and a resident of Austin, in the county of Travis and State of'Texas, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Plows, of which the follow- I three wheels, one dirigible front wheel and two larger tractor rear wheels, all preceded by large double turning plows or middle busters which throw the looseplowed earth into beds or ridges and leave exposed furrows, at the bottom of which 1s firm earth, and in which the three supporting wheels of the machine roll. This arrangement, which is particularly adapted to preparlng for -cotton orcorn, is such that the work is accom- 'plished with a minimum expenditure of power and at a great saving as comparedwith machines whose wheelseither precede the ridging plows or are arranged in loose plowed earth.

I In addition to the foregoing it will be shown that the wheels, in their particular arrangement, perform a rear function aside from supporting and driving the mach ne.

In the accompanying drawings :F1gure 1 is a top plan view of myimproved machine; Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof; and

Fig. 3 is a detail horizontal section through the forward plow-beam, its support and adjusting wheel taken substantially on the line i 33 of Fig. 2.

Referring generally'to the structure of the machine, it may be said to comprlse a stepped frame includin a rear portion A generally rectangular in orm, an intermediate portlon A of reduced width in comparison to the portion A, and a forward ortion A which is in turn reduced in widt as compared to the intermediate portion A. The rear frame portion A supports the large side wheels B,

' B, and the intermediate frame portion A supports the single front wheel B while the forward frame portion A supports the forward land roller 13, the function of which willbe hereinafter made plain. '1 ;Th drlvmg arrangement includes a motor G arranged longitudinally of the machina and within the rear frame portion A,

having the forward portion of its powershaft connected with a cranking shaft 0 andhavingthe rear portion of its powershaft extending to the differential 0 from which the portions 0 of the transmission shaft extend laterally and are provided with gear wheels 0 having connection with gear wheels I) secured to the rear side supporting wheels B and B.

The forward wheel B is carried by a fork d at the upper end of which is a turntable d seated upwardly against the rigid annulus (Z secured beneaththe intermediate frame portion A, the said turntable being manipulated by a partially encircling and flexible steering connection, the ends (Z of which are coiled in opposite directions, and

at different points, upon a transverse shaft cl having a worm connection with the lower end of the steering post D, the latter being inclined upwardly and rearwardly, and having its operating wheel (i at a point immediately in front of the operators seat E. Thus the movement of the machine may be effectively guided.

Of the trio of plows, one of which precedes each of the wheels B, B and B the forward plow consists of a share f secured to the lower end of a beam F, the upper portion of which has arack and is vertically adjustable within its boxing f secured between the side bars of the forward frame portion A and suitably braced at its upper and lower ends by members F. The upper portion of the boxing f is provided with a slot through which its adjusting gear f may extend into mesh with the rack of the plow-beam F. The rear plows pre ceding the wheels B and B, embody lower shares 9 secured to'the ends of beams G which have upper rack portions and are vertically adjustably disposed in boxings' g which are secured within the endcportions of a supplemental frame H mounted laterally of the mainframe portion A at a point immediately in front of the said wheels. The upper and'lower portions of the boxings g are braced by members the boxings being further provided with slots through which gear wheels 9 project into mesh with the rack portions of the plow-beams. The gear wheels 9* are secured upon the same shaft 9 mounted in the before-mentioned supplemental frame, and upon the shaft 9 is also held a pair of sprocket wheels, one of which is connected by a chain 9 with a sprocket wheel secured upon a shaft mounted in the main frame immediately adjacent the-drivers seat E, the rotation of which shaft is under control of a hand-lever J, and the other sprocket wheel of which is connected by a chain 9? to a sprocket wheel mounted upon the shaft with the front plow-beam adjusting gear f Thus the operator may move the hand-lever J for the purpose of raising and lowering the trio of plows in unison, the said handlever being provided with a latch mechanism engageable with a fixed quadrant y' for the purpose of locking the plows in selected posltion.

The forward roller B has its axle pivotally connected to the lower portion of the forward plow-beam F by means of side bars k and further connected by upwardly inclined bars K with the upper end of the plow-beam F above its boxing f, this latter connection including slots in the bars K through which an adjusting bolt 70 extends through said beam and forms an adjustable connection whereby to permit the vertical adjustment of the roller B with respect to the plowshare f. It will be noted, however,

that when the roller B has been once adjusted, it will thereafter move up and down with the plow-beam F when the latter is adjusted vertically by manipulation of the operating lever J, as previously described.

While it is evident that the means for driving and steering the machine and effecting the vertical adjustment of the plows, may be readily understood from the fore going, attention is again called to the fact that each of the plows is arranged to precede one of the main wheels, and attention is further called to the fact that being double turning plows or middle busters the shares are V-shaped and that the peripheral faces of the wheels B, B and B are of similar shape. It will thus be seen that during the operation of the machine, the wheels B, B and B will follow'along in furrows formed by the plowsharesand effect the packing of the earth along the base of the furrows, resulting in the formation of a stratum of earth along each furrow base which is impervious to water and is capable of conserving rain-water near the surface of the soil after the manner known as :dry farming. It is to be understood, however, that the three furrows thus made are only about twenty-seven inches apart and that the land is to be gone over immediately a second time to complete the plowing, the plows this time splitting the ridges made in the first plowing, and thus as the bases of all of the furrows will be packed as before described, the earth below the loose soil will be almost completely packed. In this operation, it is intended that the furrows shall be formed to a depth equal to ,that to which the ground has been previously plowed, and in this manner the ground even before packing, as justdescribed, aflords to the driving wheels B and B a enerally solid surface, and in this manner e ects great economy in power.

Should the forward wheel B strike a point in the furrow which is unusually soft, it would permit the weight of the frame and its parts to drive the forward plowshare f into the raw unplowed subsoil, were it not for the roller B which, if properly adjusted with respect to the plowshare, will effectively prevent the same from lowering inasmuch as this roller travels forwardly of the first plowshare and-consequently upon the surface of unplowed ground which the first plowshare has not yet reached. Thus the roller B resists any tendency of the front of the machine to lower and prevents the forward plow from being inclined so as to turn its point more deeply into the soil than is either necessary or desired. Of

course should aim of the rear frame wheels or the rear of the frame itself lower, which is unlikely as the rear frame wheels run on the bases of the furrows and consequently the solid ground, the points of the rear plows would not be turned down and their bases would therefore resist any such lowering movement.-

I claim 1. The combination of a frame, a plurality of plow beams depending from the frame, shares carried by said beams, wheels supporting the frame, each of said wheels being mounted in the rear of, and in line with, one of the said plows and being adapted to travel on and pack the .base of the furrow made by its respective plow, and a roller mounted forwardly of the foremost plow beam and share.

2. The combination of a frame, a plurality of plow beams depending from the frame, shares carried by the said beams, wheels supporting the frame, each of said wheels being mounted in the rear of and in line with, one of said plow shares, and a roller mounted forwardly of the foremost plow beam and having a vertical adjustable connection therewith.

of plow beams Vertically adjustable in the 3. The combination of a frame, a plurality t0 the said foremost plow beam for Vertical movement therewith and vertical adjustment with respect thereto.

frame, shares carried by the said beams, supporting Wheels for the frame mounted in JAMES EDWIN PEARCE. the rear of, and in line with said plow shares, l Witnesses:

and a roller mounted forwardly of the fore- GEO. W. VVALLING, J r.,

most plow beam, said roller being connected H. A. TURNER. 

